Viral
by LadyHammer
Summary: It's the year 23XX, and a land far from Giga City is having troubles with it's systems. X and his friends are sent over to investigate, and get tangled up in the trouble concerning Amarcine's legend - "Cige"
1. Ch:1Black Rabbit

**Author Stufficks:**

Hey everyone! I'm new to the MMX Fanficcing world! I'm new to the MM at all fanficcing world... so, um, be nice, k? I'm Lady Hammer, and this is a fic I've had up my sleeve for awhile. Now, I realize that the majority of the first chapter is in computer format, but it will change. My intros are kinda strange, sorry about that, hehe. And I have lots of original characters in here, since it's based in an original PLACE, but X and his pals will be gradually 'shipped over', lol. Oh... and 'cause it needs to be here in order for me to not have my ass sued: **Disclaimer thingy: I DO NOT OWN Megaman X, or any of the other related thingies. THEY BELONG TO CAPCOM. I own Dr. Arden Winry, Dr. Greene, Amarcine, and all those other things that Capcom didn't make in this fic...**

Oh, and there's one more thing about my writing style I think you should know. I tend to do this cliffhanger thing a LOT, and if at first you read something and like, don't know what the hell I'm talking about, chances are it's explained either later on in the chapter, or will be revealed in a chapter later to come. Hehe, well, sorry for that long winded explanation there. lol. I hope you like and please RxR! Now...

ON WIT DA FICCY!

-

Ch:1/Black Rabbit

… _click, click, click_…

Command Access

Open

Command Access/A:Reploid Files,B:Tactic Files,C:Scientist Files,D:Maverick Files

Open C:

ACCESS DENIED

Password prompt

Password:

Password: Greene01

Password:

Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Project Filters,Dr.Greene's Files,Reploid Research,Dr. Winry's Files,X's Stats,Reploid Stats,Behavior Research,Angel,Cyber Elf Research,Relic Research,Weapon Research,Archives

Open Angel

ACCESS DENIED

Password prompt

ACCESS DENIED

Open Dr. Winry's Files

Password:

Password: ViralArden

Password:

Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Dr. Winry's Files/Reploid Genetics,Project Winry001,Research,Winry Wins

Open Winry Wins

Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Dr. Winry's Files/Winry Wins/BlkRbt.obj,SlkCcn.obj,RedCore.obj,SllyGs.obj

Launch BlkRbt.obj

Launching…

Launch:

C:Scientist Files/Angel

Launched

"Dr. Winry!"

The young figure at the monitor swung around, the blonde braid at his nape swinging around as well. His yellow-brown eyes scanned the figure before him.

"What do you need, Zero?"

"What were you doing, Dr. Winry?" Zero asked sternly, his arms folded across his chest. Arden rolled his eyes and turned back to the monitor.

"Why? What's it to ya?" he asked smugly, opening up a new window.

"I heard an 'Access Denied' several times. Are you doing something you're not supposed to?" Zero asked once more.

"Nope. Now go back to whatever it was you were doing!" Arden said, sticking out his tongue. Zero walked out of the computer lab with few words.

"17, eh? Looks like someone needs to mature…" he mumbled under his breath. Arden took a deep sigh of relief as Zero left the lab, and he opened up his previous window.

"Okay, Black Rabbit, let's see what you can do…"

Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Project Filters,Dr.Greene's Files,Reploid Research,Dr. Winry's Files,X's Stats,Reploid Stats,Behavior Research,Angel,Cyber Elf Research,Relic Research,Weapon Research,Archives

Open Angel

…

…

…

Password:

Arden looked around for a moment, trying to think of what the password could possibly be. This was one of Dr. Greene's Files, and no one had really been able to open it. Arden had finally taken a chance. He had created the perfect hacking tool, the Black Rabbit, which took him about a year and a half to create. And now, a stupid password was going to get in his way?

He thought about it for a moment. Dr. Greene had always been fond of her memories, and had made them apparent at every chance she could. Her quarters had been full of old relics from her childhood, and from his childhood.

Password: Arden5

Password:

Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Angel/

Launching…

"Whoa! Wait a minute! I didn't launch anything!" Arden said, now slightly panicked. He typed some more commands on the screen, but the same thing still showed up.

Launching…

"WINRY!"

"Dammit… what does he _want_ with me!" Arden muttered under his breath at the sound of Zero's call.

"WINRY, STOP TRYING TO HACK THE PROGRAMS!"

Arden sighed looked at the screen one last time. This time, a profile showed up.

Launching…

Greene Reploid 001

Make: 21XX

Power: Unstable

Power Type:9';#,l

Release: 1.22.3XX

Hazard: Unknown

Weapon: Glaive-model G001

"… Greene Reploid?"

"WINRY! I'M COMING IN!"

"Crap…!"

Arden shut his windows and walked out of the lab before Zero came in after him.

In a far corner of the Amarcine Badlands, in the rocky, dry plain, in the midst of a dust storm, a capsule opened underneath a pile of rocks, and steam rose into the air…

-

Oooh whad'ja think? RxR please! Chapter two coming hot off the... uh... Microsoft Works...! o


	2. Ch:2Sindra Virus

**Author's Stufficks:** Heyhey, it's Lady Hammer again! Hehe, the format of this isn't quite turning out how I wanted it, but that's okay, I guess. Just a minor inconvenience. I guess. Hehe. Well... as usual.

Disclaimer thingy: I don't own MMX or anything else that Capcom does, because, well, Capcom owns it, not me. :D

Now... ON WIT DAH FICCY!

-

Ch:2/Sindra Virus

Arden had spent most of the day forced to stay by Zero by the head commander of the Amarcine Reploid Base. He was a very sensible, yet very old commander, who had been an okay-ranking maverick-hunter. He was much more of a tactician, however, which is what gained him the title of Colonel Marliss. Arden didn't like Colonel Marliss.

"Winry, what's the meaning of this?" Colonel Marliss asked sternly, his bulky hands behind his large back. He looked down at Arden, who shrugged violently.

"WHAAAAT!" he shouted. "I wasn't doin' _nothin_'!"

"He was hacking," Zero said simply with folded arms. Arden glared up at Zero.

"Gee, Ithanks/I, pal…" he mumbled. He turned back to Colonel Marliss. "I forgot the password to my files," he lied, "So I had to hack into it." Colonel Marliss and Zero exchanged glances, then looked at Arden.

"Alright. Zero, take him to his room," Colonel Marliss ordered. Zero did as told, grabbing Arden's wrist. He walked out of the Amarcine Base Bridge with the young geneticist.

"I can walk to my own room, y'know!" Arden snapped, snatching his wrist away from Zero's grasp. Arden was now angry and miffed that his concentration and anticipation of opening that file had been destroyed. He walked briskly down the halls to his quarters. Zero followed steadily behind.

"Listen, kid, you've got to stop messing around. You're gonna get into something that's gonna mess the whole base up!" he shouted. Arden made a light 'humph'.

"Am I?" he remarked.

"That's the whole reason me and my friend had to come down here! Because _someone_, whether it was you or not, screwed something up with the systems, and now, tons of the Amarcine reploids are AWOL in the Dustlands!" Zero yelled. He watched Arden, halfway down the hall, stop stiffly.

"Whatever…" he mumbled, glaring down the hallway to Zero, then continuing down to his room. Zero sighed and gave up, returning to the bridge.

"What did I _launch_…? I launched something… it said… a Greene reploid… did I launch one of Dr. Greene's reploids!" Arden muttered to himself as he pressed the button to open his door. The metal door slid open, and Arden walked inside. Upon the entrance to his room, the door slid shut again. Arden plopped down on his bed.

"If I launched one of Dr. Greene's reploids… I wonder if… it's…"

"Arden, could you help me for a moment?"

Arden rushed from his position by the lab bed where he had been doing repairs on a reploid, and over to where Dr. Emily Greene stood by a monitor desk.

"Yes, Dr. Greene?" he asked. Dr. Greene typed in some commands for the reploid on the lab bed.

"This is the current status she's in. But she's got a virus I just can't fix… it's messing with the circuit genes I programmed for her," she said. On the screen, a wire frame of a female reploid appeared with a mark on her forehead.

"That looks like the… the Sindra Virus! Dr. Greene, that's a bad, bad thing!" Arden shouted, his eyes transfixed on the screen in a panic. Dr. Greene moved over to the next monitor desk and typed in something else.

"Alright, calm down, Arden… I'm going to pull up some files on the Sindra Virus and see how I can get rid of it… you wanna help?" she asked. Arden rushed over to the female reploid on the lab bed and picked up his laptop.

"Dr. Greene, we have to act fast! It might already be too late! The Sindra Virus might permanently settle into her systems! Once they crash, that's it!" Arden yelled, grabbing a tiny tool from the table beside him and disassembling the red gem on the female reploid's forehead. Just as he was trying to get it off, the female reploid's pale, frigid blue eyes shot open.

"ARDEN!"

Arden woke with a start to see a female reploid in his room. She was dressed in purple and white, and had long, curly, purple hair.

"Yuta…" he mumbled, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "You scared me…"

"Sounds like something else scared you," Yuta replied. She fixed the headset on her ears, as a signal was coming in. "Yes, he's here. Alright, Colonel."

"What is it, Yuta?" Arden asked, getting out of bed, readjusting his red trench coat.

"You need to get to the Bridge, immediately," Yuta told him. "The Colonel wants you to see something."

"Yes, Colonel?"

Arden walked onto the Bridge with Yuta. Colonel Marliss was there with Zero, and they were all looking rather concerned as they stared at the main plasma screen.

"It's her…"

The Colonel sounded rather upset. Arden looked up with surprise.

"It's her! It's the Greene 001 project!" Yuta shouted.

"Cige…" Arden muttered, watching as the reploid in his dream of the past woke up from her long sleep in the Amarcine Badlands. She was making her way slowly to the base.

-

RxR? Hehe... tell me how ya think of it so far, please! .


	3. Ch:3Outage

**Author Stufficks! AGAIN: **Okay, hey, w00tw00t! It's me, Lady Hammer, and I'm back again with chapter three! Once again, the format is weird, and if you spot things that confuse you, they'll probably be explained in a later chapter! And I've already stated the disclaimer and I don't feel like doing it every chapter, so there:P Anyway...

ON WIT DAH FICCY!

* * *

Ch:3/Outage

Dr. Arden Winry's golden eyes glimmered in amazement as he stared at the screen.

"C… Cige…"

"Who's Cige?"

Arden's gaze went to Zero. He was shocked at his question.

"_Who's Cige_?" he asked.

"… Yeah, that was the question…"

Before Arden could go off, Colonel Marliss put his large hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Cige 001. She was the first creation of Dr. Emily Greene, our best reploid scientist the Base has ever had," he explained. Zero folded his arms.

"But she disappeared, didn't she?" Zero asked. Arden broke away from the Colonel and dashed up to Zero with a flushed, angered, defensive face.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! SHE WAS THE BEST!" he shouted. "And Cige was her best creation, and we're gonna find 'em BOTH!"

He shoved Zero away and ran off.

"Oh! Dr. Winry!" Yuta cried out, starting to chase after him.

"Yuta, leave him. It's… typical teenage human behavior," Colonel Marliss said quietly. Zero gave a short laugh.

"I don't think he likes me," he replied. Yuta sighed and walked up to her operator's chair and started pressing on keys on her monitor desk.

"Dr. Winry's been like that ever since Dr. Greene vanished. She was like his mother. The Base adopted him, and Dr. Greene was the closest friend he's ever had," she explained. "She was the only other human here. So, he's all alone with reploids, and he hardly ever gets to go outside the Base."

Zero took a moment to think about Arden's situation. He supposed maybe Arden just needed more respect. It had to be awkward being where he was.

"How does he… well he seems so close to Cige," Zero said.

"He helped Dr. Greene in her lab with Cige when she was infected with viruses. If anyone would know how Cige was awakened or where she'll go, it's him," Colonel Marliss explained.

"But… let me guess… he wouldn't tell you anything no matter _how_ nice you were…" Zero said, arms still folded and with a smirk.

"That's exactly it. Dr. Winry doesn't really like us. We were sort of hoping he'd get along well with you and X," Yuta replied, tugging at her light blue pigtails, ready with another sigh.

"Where is X?" Zero asked.

"He's still being checked for viruses in the medbay," Colonel said. "There's a really bad one going around Amarcine now. The nurse reploids are doing their best to find vaccine programs," he explained.

"What have you done, Winry?" Arden whined, opening up his laptop as he lounged in his bed. He went back to the base's files.

Command Access

Open

The screen flashed a little bit, which wasn't a good sign.

"Great…" Arden muttered. "The power's getting ready to go out. Just what we need. Another power shortage. Third one this week… I've got to get through this, though!"

Command Access/A:Reploid Files,B:Tactic Files,C:Scientist Files,D:Maverick Files

Open C: password prompt

Password:

Password: Greene01

Password:

Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Project Filters,Dr.Greene's Files,Reploid Research,Dr. Winry's Files,X's Stats,Reploid Stats,Behavior Research,Angel,Cyber Elf Research,Relic Research,Weapon Research,Archives

Winry thought to himself as the screen flashed once more and started to get a little fuzzy. Where to? There's got to be other files in that "Angel" file…

Open Dr. Winry's Files

Password:

Password: ViralArden

Password:

Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Dr. Winry's Files/Reploid Genetics,Project Winry001,Research,Winry Wins

Open Winry Wins

Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Dr. Winry's Files/Winry Wins/BlkRbt.obj,SlkCcn.obj,RedCore.obj,SllyGs.obj

"What to use, what to use… Black Rabbit's already launched to disable the password prompt block… how about… Silk Cocoon? That oughta let me look around a bit to disable the launching…" he mumbled to himself.

Launch SlkCcn.obj

Just then, the screen went fuzzy again. Arden swore under his breath, smacking the side of the laptop.

"Come on, you piece of crap, not now!" he snared, trying to adjust the screen. He could just barely see his command screen. "Damn you… you'd better work…!" he scowled.

Launching…

Launch:

Launch: Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Angel

Launching…

Arden crossed his fingers as his file was launched, and it loaded the next page.

ACCESS PERMITTED

Command Access/C:Scientist Files/Angel/;kf,Angel Virus,Sindra Virus,Project: Apparition Research,001

Arden was enthralled with this picture. The only thing that disappointed him was the few corrupted files, and one that looked potentially dangerous. At least two files didn't show up, and were listed as corrupted, and one of them looked messed with, as well, and had the look of a virus waiting to be opened. The two other virus folders, however, interested him. The Sindra Virus, he had heard of, but not the Angel Virus.

"Which one should I open first…?" he mumbled. He decided to decide later and load the files onto a chip to look at in a future moment. Just as he was done and shoving his laptop in a duffel bag, all the power in the Base went out. "That's not gonna be good for the medbay…"

* * *

RxR? Whadja think of it? . Please leeeemmme know! 


	4. Ch:4Inside

**Author Stuffkies:** Okay, well, Lady Hammer is back! Hehe, I should really come up with just a 'name' name... anyway... sorry this chapter is so short. I wasn't expecting that to happen, so, um, I'll have chapter 5 up in a jiffy (omg I just said jiffy!), ok? OKIES! Oh, and to answer a question I got in a review... YES! YES Axl WILL be in here! And to all of his fans, I think they will like to know that he will NOT be bashed in here! . Yippe!

**Disclaimer: **Um, if you want it, go and read it in the 1st chapter...

* * *

Ch:4/Inside 

"Get the nurse reploids!"

"Get the research!"

"Get the new shipments!"

"Get _Winry_!"

Clamor erupted in the Base as the power died out, and Colonel Marliss was on the Bridge giving orders back and forth between the operators.

"Yuta, you stay with the other operators," he said, turning to the periwinkle-haired operator. "You're in charge, here. I'm going to check things in the control rooms. Zero," he began, "I need you to get Dr. Winry right away, and find out if X is finished with his virus scans, yet." Zero nodded with a 'yes sir', and left the Bridge. He went down the halls and into the scientist rooms, until he found Arden's.

"DR. WINRY!"

Arden had been getting his duffel bag ready, and he was planning to make his first outing in about nine months into the city, in hopes of finding a power source. His door suddenly sliding opened startles him. He looked out dumbfounded at Zero in the hallway.

"What are you doing!" Zero asked. Arden stuck his nose in the air and slung his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"What does it matter to _you_?" he asked, putting a hand on his hip. Zero sighed and folded his arms, looking off to the side.

"Listen… Dr. Winry… I think we, uh… maybe got off on the wrong foot… I'm not trying to be the bad guy, here, I'm just trying to be your friend," he said. Arden rolled his eyes.

"_Right_… okay. All you reploids siding with each other, ganging up on me, getting me in trouble, and getting in my business! How much more of your _friendliness_ can I take?" he shouted. "What a friend! What a _pal_! Tch! Sorry, but that's the _LAST_ thing I need right now!"

Zero didn't take it lightly. In his many, many years of being with numerous Bases and Resistances and Alliances as a maverick hunter, he'd never had such a hard time making friends with an incompetent punk, not to mention being in Amarcine was making him rather irritable. He clenched his teeth and fought his anger.

"Come on," he snared, forcing the words out. "Colonel Marliss wants us to find my friend."

"Tch, see, that's what I'm talkin' about! You 'New Shipments' who haven't even been here 48 hours, you get to look for your friends if you want to! I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 13 YEARS! Not _once_ have I been granted that wish!" Arden shouted. "It's always, 'You, go get Winry!', or, 'You, go tell Winry this,' or even, 'You, take Winry his food!'"

"It's probably because you don't _have_ any friends!" Zero yelled through clenched teeth. Arden went stiff and silent. "I _offered_ to be your friend, okay?"

Arden glared into Zero's blue eyes with anger and a broken ego. He narrowed his eyes and rammed his hands into the pockets of his red trench coat.

"Damn reploids.."

"And what's wrong with us!" Zero roared, nearing his face. "Why do you _hate_ us? We're your _friends_!"

"Maybe if I wasn't treated as such an inferior, I wouldn't _mind_ making friends! I'm _never_ an equal! I'm something to take turns _feeding_!"

Zero didn't know this side. It _did _seem like Arden was treated more like an annoying pet. He sighed heavily and looked up at the dark above.

"Well… c'mon. I'm _on_ your side, Dr. Let's go find my friend. I'll introduce you two. You'll like him, I know you will," he replied with the best grin his current mood would let him muster up. '_Everyone likes X, it seems…_' he thought. Arden relented.

"… Alright. You, uh… don't have to call me Dr. You can call me Arden," he said, following Zero back down the hall and to the medbay. '_I can't believe it… what am I doing? Reploids don't OWN me…!_' he thought, his anger rekindled. '_I shouldn't relent just 'cause he's trying to be nice! … Wait… that's exactly why I should relent…_' his thoughts continued. He was confused, and now wished he had just gone to sleep, for a headache was developing.

Zero and Arden made their way to the medbay through the long, dark, silent hallways of Amarcine Base. To Zero's relief, X was standing by his test capsule, helping one of the nurse reploids clean up.

"Hey, X! How'd the scan go?" Zero said cheerfully, giving a simplistic wave to X. X gave a smile as he confronted Zero.

"Well, I'm virus-free!" he laughed. He then glanced at Arden, still his smiling self.

"This is the Reploid Geneticist we were told about. Dr. Winry. Arden, this is my friend, X!" Zero said, presenting X to Arden, who looked up at him, quizzically. These two were different from the other Amarcine reploids. They were… nice.

"You can call me Arden," he said, shaking X's hand.

* * *

GASP! I've learned the wonderful HORIZONTAL LINE! lol... anyway... w00t this is this! RxR please, and tell me what you think and what you'd like to see! . 


	5. Ch:5Find Them

**Author Stuffkies**: w00tw00t, chaper5 everyone! I finally figured out how to fix the computer format stuff, since all the symbols I WANT to show up WON'T... I used little periods! Yaaay! throws arms up in the air Okay... now, there are a few things I'd like to make note of before the future chapters.

ME, like an IDIOT, didn't look at Axl enough before I brought him in later on, so I made his eyes blue and his hair brown. His eyes blue is a stupid mistake that I will fix without too much of a dented ego, since I just need to change all of those nifty synonyms for blue with ones for green! BUT... I SERIOUSLY believed his hair to be brown! It doesn't look very orange to me... so, I will dub it in my head as "orangy brown". So... iono... I might change it in the fic... but iono...

Oh... one more thing. Some things in this chapter are important for you to remember in the later chapters, 'cause they come in later on. Like the passwords hint hint ON WIT DA FICCY!

* * *

Ch:5/Find Them

Arden had been introduced to quite possibly the friendliest reploid since Greene's creations Dash003 and Noki004. But they were gone, now. X wasn't like the other bossy, irritable, busy reploids in Amarcine. He would have qualified Yuta as friendly, but she was too much of a sad, depressed thing. X was… cheery.

"It's nice to meet you, Arden," X said. "There's got to be a way to get this power on, because a few reploids in the back are being given different vaccines for a new virus!"

"A _new virus_?" Zero said in disbelief. Arden looked up at him with an air of simplicity.

"Yeah, Amarcine's virus ridden. We're always finding new viruses," he replied. "One of the advantages of being a human!"

"You're really short," Zero said, randomly. Arden narrowed his eyes.

"Watch it… _pal_. I could dismantle you in a second!" he threatened. Zero laughed.

"Right. My systems are too complex for you!" he replied. X had been silent for awhile, gazing off in thought. Finally, he spoke.

"Where's Axl?"

Everyone exchanged glances. Zero looked around the medbay, hearing faint sounds of the nurse reploids whispering around in the back, trying to find out what to do with their patients.

"Is… he in the medbay? Getting checked for viruses?" he asked. X shrugged.

"I don't think he ever came in," was his response.

"What! No way! He was shipped with us, wasn't he?" Zero asked, his fists suddenly clenching.

"Who are we looking for?" Arden asked, slowly, inconspicuously unzipping his duffel bag.

"Our friend, Axl. He was shipped with us, I'm sure of it!" X answered.

"Well, the power cell in my laptop has another 5, 10 minutes left in it, sooo…"

Arden pulled his laptop out of his bag, opened it, and switched it on. He wanted desperately to search the files on the chip, but knew he'd have to wait.

"What are you doing?" Zero asked, looking at the screen.

"What I do best!" Arden answered. Access

..Back to Core Directories

.01:General Base Files,02:CE,03:Admin Log,04:

..Open CE

.Opening…  
.CE:Missing Reps,Dr. Greene,Generators,Base Status

..Show Hidden

ACCESS DENIED

..Password prompt

.Password:

Arden smirked with pride as he typed in the password he'd stolen from one of the ex-commanders about 8 years ago.

..Password: ITCVARB

.Opening…

"Wow…" X mumbled, now also watching Arden's screen.

"You're good. You know _all _of the little secrets of the Base's files!" Zero replied.

"It doesn't end there!" Arden said with a grin gleaming in the dull glow from the laptop screen.

.CE:HiddenNew Shipment Files,Corrupted Files,Lethal Virus Research

..Open New Shipment Files

.CE:HiddenNew Shipment Files/X,Zero,Axl,Next Shipments

..Open Axl

A long list appeared before the three. Arden brought his laptop to a desk in the medbay, and continued reading the document. X and Zero didn't seem to pleased with what it said, but he assumed that they knew more of what it meant than him.

.Document Title-Axl (CEHiddenNew Shipment Files/Axl)  
Reploid-Axl  
Deployment Troop #001  
From-Giga City  
To-Amarcine Reploid Base  
Date Sent: 1.15.3XX  
Supposed Arrival: 1.20.3XX  
Arrival Date - N/A - ALERT  
...… Condition - Unknown  
Estimated Critical  
Location: Dustlands  
Sect: Unknown

"We've got to find him!"

Arden turned to Zero.

"We've got to. No questions."

"Agreed. Arden, we need to find Axl, no matter what Colonel Marliss's orders are," X said, firmly. '_What WERE Colonel Marliss's orders?_' Arden thought. He figured it didn't matter. He didn't care what they were-he had disobeyed them a number of times, anyway, but he was surprised X would say something like that, not knowing that. For all _he_ knew, Arden just might get offended and report him as a disobeying threat to the officials. X didn't seem to be too tense or anything over it. He was either one of those less intelligent people who never thought before they spoke, or he trusted him.

"Alright. First, let's go see what his orders are," Arden said. In a few moments, rather conveniently, one of the nurse reploids had received a transmission from somewhere in the Base, and called them over. It was from Colonel Marliss.

"I want you two, X and Zero, to go into the Dustlands to find Cige. Take Winry with you. He may be the only one who can find out what's going on," was his order. Arden's jaw dropped at this. Not knowing where or what the Dustlands were, X and Zero agreed to this, and the transmission ended. X saw Arden's face of dread.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm a _human_! I can't go into the Dustlands! You reploids can stand up to the dust storms there. _I _can't! Humans are at immense risk going down there for any reason. No human who's _dared_ to go down there has survived the dust storms!" he shouted in agitation. Zero patted him on the back.

"We're legendary maverick hunters. Even if that doesn't cover protecting the lungs of an adolescent human, you're in good hands!" he said.

* * *

Well, wheee! I'll give ya chapter 6 tomorrow! o I hope you guys like this, please tell me what you think! Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far, too! It means a lot!. RxR please!


End file.
